Based on Census 2001 data, this article presents analysis of the socio-demographic characteristics of people working in the healthcare sector, focusing particularly on four key healthcare occupations: doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives. Unlike the NHS workforce statistics, which only include people directly employed by the NHS, census data also include those working in the private healthcare market and those who are self-employed. The article als examines patterns of distribution key healthcare professions per head of population by local authority and by area deprivation.